Aston Villa play hosts to Everton when the two sides collide in Premier League action at the Villa Park on August 23, 2019.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa returns to the Premier League after a three year absence. After losing eight out of their last matches of the 2017-18 season, they won the 2019 English Football League final playoff with a 2-1 victory over Derby City. Dean Smith immediately delivered the results after taking over from former Birmingham boss Steve Bruce, helping the Villa finish 5th in the final EFL table while leading them to a 10-match winning streak during the previous term. Aston Villa has won a total of seven First Division titles, two Second Division crowns and one Third division championship.
Here are the current players for Aston Villa as of July 15, 2019:
Goalkeepers: Lovre Kalinic, Orjan Nyland, Jed Steer Defenders: James Bree, James Chester, Ahmen Elmohamady, Frederic Guilbert, Kortney Hause, Ezri Konsa, Matt Target, Neil Taylor, Bjorn Engels, Tyrone Mings Midfielders: Birkir Bjarnason, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Anwar El Ghazi, Jack Gealish, Andre Green, Conor Hourihane, Jota, Henri Lansburg, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Trezeguet, Aaron Tshibola Forwards: Keinan Davis, Jonathan Kodija, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Scott Hogan, Callum O’Hare, Wesley
Everton
Everton is one of the originals of the Premier League as they were among the founders of the Enlish Premier League in 1992. Ever since, the Toffees have struggled to find the right manager. They hope that their latest one, Marco Silva, is going to be a keeper after they finished 8th in the last term and finished the season with big wins over Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. For 2019-20, Everton is looking to barge in to the Top 6 and they hope to do so with Silva’s offensive style. With his team having better health this coming season, look for Everton to exceed last season’s performance.
Here are the current players for Everton F.C. as of 7/25/19:
1 GK Jordan Pickford, 2 DF Mason Holgate, 3 DF Leighton Barnes (captain), 4 DF Michael Keane, 7 MF Yannick Bolasie, 8 MF Fabian Delph, 10 MF Gylfi Sigurosson, 11 FW Theo Walcott, 12 DF Lucas Digne, 13 DF Yerry Mina, 14 FW Cenk Tosun, 15 DF Cuco Martina, 16 MF James McCarthy, 17 MF Idrissa Gueye, 18 MF Morgan Schneiderlin, 19 FW Oumar Niasse, 20 MF Bernard, 21 MF Andre Gomes, 22 GK Maarten Stekelenburg, 23 DF Seamus Coleman (vice captain), 26 MF Tom Davies, 29 FW Dominic Calvin-Lewin, 30 FW Richarlison, 32 MF Joel Williams, 34 MF Beni Baningime, 38 DF Matthew Pennington, GK Jonasl Lossl, MF Muhamed Besic, MF Kevin Mirallas, FW Henry Onyekuru
Who Wins?
Aston Villa got a much needed financial boost from its new owners. They spent big during the summer and look to add more until the window is closed. Their biggest acquisition in Brazilian striker Wesley who had a modest 35 goals in 117 appearances for Genk. At 6-3 with broad shoulders, Wesley will be a problem in the box and looks to be an easy target to find for the midfielders.
Jack Grealish will be their main man on offense this season. After an edgy start to his Premier League career years ago, Grealish has matured and developed as a football player. He is tough to stop because of his ball handling skills and his ability to deliver accurate passes.
The last term was a transitional season for Everton. The Toffees saw the Ronald Koeman era fall apart, Sam Allarcyde put the fire out but made an exit and then Marco Silva was picked to be the long term boss. Everton had a solid start but won just three games from the start of December to the end of February. When all was said and done, they finished in 8th place.
Kurt Kouzuma’s entry from Chelsea solidified the Toffees’ defense. It allowed Everton to collect eight clean slates in their last 11 games of the 2018-19 season. On offense, Gylfi Sigurosson has his best EPL season with 13 goals and 4 assists. He should be the main man on offense for Everton.
Andre Gomes is Everton’s biggest addition this summer. Although he isn’t expected to grab the headlines with the likes of Gylfi Sigurosson ahead of him, his slick passing and dribbling skills are going to help the offense flow. I think Everton plays better on both sides of the field, especially on defense. I’m picking Everton to beat Aston Villa on 8/23/19.